The Band
by Chibi Scissorwoman
Summary: --Clock Tower 3-- Lenora Skeffington's a clarinetist. When she moves into a new school, she joins a new band... and a group who calls themselves the Subordinates! AU, obviously. --Ch. 3 up.--
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Ello, everybody! It's Chibi Scissorwoman, author of Abuse and Obsession with Scissors, back with another story! ^_^**_

_**This one has come from my uberly-twisted band geek brain... It has decided to put the Subordinates, Alyssa, and Dennis in high school marching band. Of course chaos will ensue... oh dear Lord, what have I done... lol. **_

_**This is a crackfic, not meant to be taken entirely seriously... There's quite a bit of comedy in this one, I think. ^^ Here's chapter one, and I don't own anything Clock Tower 3 related except Lenora Skeffington... she is mine. Enjoy!**_

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**~~~~~~Chapter One~~~~~~_

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_What on earth did I get myself into?_

Sixteen-year-old Lenora Skeffington stood nervously in the doorway of the band room. Her clarinet case was in her hands in front of her, her honey-blonde hair in its typical style of half-down, half-braided. Even though she and everyone else in the room were wearing the same uniform, a green blazer and either a plaid skirt on the girls and black pants on the boys, Lenora felt completely out of place in here.

She didn't feel this way with her old band; not at all. In fact, she was happy there, with all her seemingly normal friends. Well, she _had been_. She'd been perfectly happy with her life, before her parents had had an argument. She'd come home from school one day to find everything she owned packed away in boxes and her mother at the kitchen table, telling her they were moving. That had been about a week ago, and now she was here. What was this school called? Hamilton High... Burroughs Academy... Something like that. She couldn't remember.

"Yo!" called a rough voice. Lenora looked up to see a black-haired boy in the back, propped up on a trombone. "You gonna come in the room, blondie, or just stand there staring like an idiot?"

Lenora blushed lightly, but didn't move. Honestly, she had no idea where her section was. Her eyes swept around the room, trying to find a friendly face. She was so nervous looking around that she didn't think she'd ever find one... then she caught the gaze of a short-haired blonde girl holding a flute. She smiled, and Lenora meekly shuffled over to her.

"Are you new?" the blonde girl asked. Lenora nodded. Normally she wasn't this shy, but... "Ah, I see. Well, my name's Alyssa Hamilton. What's yours?"

"L-Lenora Skeffington," Lenora said, feeling a bit of her nervousness go away.

"Nice to meet you, Lenora," said Alyssa. "What instrument do you play?"

"Clarinet," Lenora replied, holding up her instrument case. Alyssa looked at it for a second, then nodded.

"The clarinet section is over there," she said, pointing to the other side of the room. "In front of the tenor saxes. Sit next to the girl with black hair -- she'll help you out."

Lenora nodded. "Thanks," she said. Alyssa nodded, and Lenora nervously walked over to where Alyssa had pointed.

The tenor saxophone players stared at her as she walked through the room, and her heart raced as she sat down next to the black-haired girl Alyssa had mentioned.

As soon as Lenora had sat down, the girl turned to her. "Who're you?" she asked. "What're you doing in my section?"

Lenora flinched. This girl was as pale as her, had dark eyes, hair up in a peculiar style, and -- this was the strangest -- scars all over her legs. What was she -- a cutter?

"I'm Lenora Skeffington," Lenora replied after a moment. "I'm new here -- just started today. I'm a clarinet." The girl's eyes immediately brightened.

"Oh, you're a newbie!" she exclaimed. "Well, hi there, newbie! I'm Jemima Burroughs! Sorry for scaring you -- honestly, I thought you were a flute."

"Why would you think that?" Lenora asked, opening her case and sticking the wooden reed in her mouth as she began to assemble the instrument.

_"Because,"_ Jemima said, shifting around in her seat and leaning forward, "you were talking to _Alyssa Hamilton._ She's the flute section leader, and she _loves_ to recruit others for her section. Half the flutes in there _used_ to be clarinets, but then they decided to change their minds halfway through pep season last year and went to flutes." Lenora nodded. She knew what that was like. It'd happened all the time in her old band... people would switch sections all the time. Occasionally it had been because of actual want, but most of the time it was by peer pressure or hatred of the people in the odl section. Her old band was _full_ of cliques; each section was basically its own clique. It'd driven Lenora crazy, but she'd learned to live with it. Was this band full of cliques, too?

Before she got a chance to ask Jemima, a tall, burly man came up and stood at the head of the class. His semilong gray hair was pulled back into a small ponytail, and Lenora concluded by his stance that he was the band director.

He raised his hands, and the room silenced.

"I am Mr. Burroughs," he announced. His voice echoed through the room, its deepness reverberating in Lenora's chest. "I only say this because I see we have a new clarinet player!" He pointed at the clarinets, and Jemima nudged her.

"Stand up!" she muttered. Lenora hurriedly got to her feet, and she felt Jemima push her up to the front. She nervously stood beside Mr. Burroughs, feeling overwhelmed by his height as she looked out at the band.

"This is Lenora Skeffington," Mr. Burroughs said, clapping a massive hand on her shoulder. "This is her first day here; she's new, so don't frighten her _too_ much!" Everyone chuckled, and Lenora paled. Did this band have an initiation ritual just like her old one did?

"Just remember, Lenora," continued Mr. Burroughs after the laughter had died down, "if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Jemima is the clarinet section leader, so you'll be reporting to her." Jemima waved, and the director added, "What part did you play in your old band?"

"First," Lenora replied; she'd always played first part, even in middle school. She'd often heard that first part was the hardest, but she'd never had a problem with it. It was almost too easy for her.

Mr. Burroughs nodded. "Then you will sit next to Jemima; you'll be first part, second chair. Now go."

He clapped her on the shoulder once more, and Lenora quickly hurried back to her seat.

"I think he likes you," Jemima muttered as Lenora sat back down. Lenora laughed nervously as the girl began thumbing through her music. She brought out a book of scales and exercises, and Lenora looked at it.

"Think you can play that?" Jemima grinned as Lenora examined the notes, the arpeggios, the thirds, the intervals. She then looked up at the section leader.

"You kidding?" she asked. "B flat major scale? Simple as pie."

She raised her instrument just as Mr. Burroughs raised his hand. The band director counted them off, then started conducting. The whole band instantly began playing. Lenora chose to play the higher octave, playing the scale with Jemima in absolute perfection. She'd done this so many times... She'd memorized this whole scale, top to bottom, both octaves, way back in her first year of middle school. Now, she played it effortlessly, letting the notes fly from her instrument as easily as clouds floated in the sky.

When they played the last note, Mr. Burroughs cut them off. "Good," he said. "Now... get out the drill music." He turned his back as papers shuffled, everyone looking for their drill music.

"Drill music?" Lenora asked. "I don't have any drill music."

"Of course you don't," Jemima replied. "You just got here. You can share mine until you get your own." Lenora nodded, and Jemima pulled three small sheets of music out and put them on the stand. Lenora leaned forward and examined the music.

_Theme from Mission Impossible, Jump in the Line,_ and _Play That Funky Music._ Lenora stared in confusion. These pieces of music didn't have anything in common!"

"What's the theme?" she asked. Jemima stared at her.

"The what?"

"The theme. Of your marching show."

"Don't have one. Mr. Burroughs wants us to stand out among other bands, and so he never picks a theme. He just picks random songs and has us do the drill for it."

Lenora slowly nodded. That was sincerely odd... To not have a theme for a marching show was like playing without dynamics: just a large, jumbled mess that only an idiot could call music.

The bell rung several minutes later, after they had all easily finished the last song. As Lenora was putting away her instrument, she was suddenly confronted by a boy from the trumpet section. To her surprise, the boy looked like a male version of Jemima: he had the same black hair, dark eyes, and pale skin, and his hair was tied back as Jemima's was, except his was a plain small bun. He smiled at Lenora, showing bright white teeth.

"Who're you?" Lenora asked as Jemima took her clarinet case.

"Ralph Burroughs!" the boy declared. It clicked in Lenora's head: they looked alike, had the same last name...

"Are you and Jemima twins?" she asked. Ralph grinned.

"You guessed it!" he exclaimed. "And you're the new girl! Lenora Skeffington! Ah, don't worry, Lenora, Jemima and I'll help you out!"

"Harassing a girl again, are you, Scissorman?" asked another black-haired boy, walking over. Lenora recognized him as the one who'd shouted at her when she walked in.

"Not doing anything of the sort, Chopper!" Ralph replied, grinning at him. "Just introducing myself to my _dear_ new friend Lenora!" He threw an arm around her shoulders, just as Jemima came back and did the same.

The boy he called Chopper stared down at Lenora, boring into her with his dark brown eyes. Lenora stared back fearlessly, her own dark green eyes narrowed. After a moment he said, "Scissorman... how can she be your dear new friend if you know nothing about her?"

Lenora tilted her head. "You don't have to know anything about someone to be their friend, _Chopper,"_ she snapped. Ralph let out a wild laugh, while Chopper's eyes narrowed.

"Ah, I like you, Lenora!" Ralph declared. "You should come eat with us at lunch!"

"Don't worry, she will!" Jemima told him. Chopper sighed and held out his hand.

"Harold Powell," he said, taking Lenora's hand and shaking it. "Senior. Trombonist. See you later."

He picked up his backpack and left the room.

"Aw, don't mind Chopper," said Jemima as the three of them finally left the band room. "He's always grumpy. Corroder's the same way. What do you have second hour?"

"Uh..." Lenora rummaged in her messenger bag, withdrew a sheet of paper, and read it. "P.E. with... Mr. Norton?"

Ralph and Jemima grimaced, looking at each other.

"What?" Lenora asked. "What is it?"

"You've got a class with Alyssa Hamilton," Jemima replied.

"And Dennis Owen," Ralph added. "He's in the band, plays alto sax --"

"--and they're some of the most annoying people in the school," Jemima finished. "Hamilton's all goody-goody all the time, and Owen is an absolute idiot."

"Most think they're together, with the way they act around each other," said Ralph. "They'll try to get you on their side, but don't listen to them. We're your _better_ friends."

Lenora was confused. Utterly, utterly confused. "Their side? What--"

"All right, well, you're here!" exclaimed Jemima, stopping in front of a set of double doors,. "Don't worry, little Lenora, I'll be waiting for you after this hour! We have third hour algebra together, I saw, so I'll be here to pick you up!"

"Bye bye, Lenora!" Ralph added, opening the door. They then pushed Lenora in, laughing.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Sorry for such a late update, everyone... ^_^; The day I meant to put it up a couple of weeks ago, decided to not let me log in, and it was like that for two or so days. Then, last week I had a rather turbulent week, so to say, so I was really busy... Here it is, though! Finally... long time no read, for the band! :D Enjoy! **_

_**I do have another RalphxAlyssa oneshot I'm going to put up... possibly today ^^ So, if you can, please read it! It's either going to be rated M or T, depending on what I pick, so if you don't see it in the normal list, check M. XD.**_

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~~~~~Chapter Two~~~~~

Lenora stumbled, but didn't fall. She straightened up and looked around.

She was in a gymnasium. It looked just like the one in her old school, so she didn't feel too out of place... until she saw Alyssa and a redhaired boy run past her, each wearing a long green T-shirt and long, baggy black shorts. The gym uniform, maybe?

"Hey, Alyssa!" she called. The blonde and the redhead both turned around, and when they saw her, they ran over.

"Hi, Lenora!" Alyssa exclaimed breathlessly. "I see you got here all right."

"The Burroughs twins walked me here," Lenora explained. "Where do I go to get the gym uniform?"

"Follow me," said Alyssa. As they began walking, she continued, "This is Dennis, by the way... Dennis, Lenora Skeffington."

"Hi!" the redhead said. "Nice to meet you, Lenora! I saw you in band, but didn't get to talk."

"Hi," Lenora said a little shyly. Dennis seemed friendly enough...

Alyssa led them down a hallway on one side of the gym. They kept walking until she steered them left, into a rather cluttered office.

"Mr. Norton?" the Hamilton asked.

A man dressed in the same attire as Alyssa and Dennis looked up. He had friendly, chocolate brown eyes, with matching short brown hair.

"Hamilton, Owen," he greeted, looking at them. He then turned his attention to Lenora. "And who's this?"

"Lenora Skeffington, Mr. Norton," Alyssa replied. "She's just starting today. She's a junior, I think...?" She looked at Lenora, who nodded. "Could she have a uniform?"

"Of course," the teacher replied, smiling. "She looks like a small would fit her..." He opened a drawer, rummaged for a bit, then pulled out a set of folded clothes. Lenora took them and looked at them, lifting up the shirt to examine the shorts.

"Alyssa, show her to the girls' locker room, help her out and take her measurements," Mr. Norton ordered. "Dennis, you go out and start running. You came in at a good time, Skeffington... we're only running the mile today."

Lenora struggled to keep herself from rolling her eyes. She always hated running the mile... it always took her way too long to finish. She heard Dennis groan behind her and figured he felt the same way.

She suddenly felt pressure on her wrist, and looked up to see that Alyssa had taken it. The girls left the office without another word to the teacher.

"Take my measurements?" Lenora asked in confusion as Alyssa pulled her into the locker room.

"Oh, it's nothing big," Alyssa replied, taking a clipboard and a pen from the wall beside the door. "Just your height and weight, is all. Now... _Lenora Skeffington_... all right. Get undressed and step on the scale."

"Say _what?"_ Lenora asked incredulously. Alyssa couldn't be asking her to _strip!_ That was insane, especially in front of _her!_

"It's the only way to get an accurate weight," said Alyssa. "Calm down, you only have to do this twice; at the beginning and at the end of the year. When you're done, you can put your gym clothes on. Now, please do it..."

Lenora sighed and began undressing. This was ludicrous... Her old school never asked her to do this! They never weighed you!

When she was just in her undergarments, Alyssa looked at her. "You're a bit pale," she said. "Now get on the scale." Lenora looked behind her and saw a scale like they had in the doctor's office. She stepped on it, and Alyssa adjusted it until the weight-checker balanced.

"A hundred and five pounds," she announced, writing the figure down. "Not bad. Now your height..." She lifted up the measuring stick, then lowered it until the top touched Lenora's head. "Five-foot-three..."

She wrote it down, and Lenora stepped off. She began to get dressed in the gym clothes, grimacing at how baggy they were. She _hated_ clothes this loose... it made her feel like she was swimming in them. Guys' clothes, that's what these felt like. Guys' clothes that were way too big.

She finished dressing, put on her shoes, and took the clipboard from Alyssa. She wanted to check something...

She immediately saw the name at the beginning of the list: Alyssa Hamilton. Of course. Her measurements were written in flowy, elegant handwriting:

_Alyssa Hamilton 5'3 1/2" 107 lbs._

Lenora nodded. A half-inch taller.. not bad. Scanning down the list, she found a familiar name, hastily scribbled. The writing looked hurried, yet somewhat neat.

_Jemima Burroughs 5'4" 110 lbs._

She smiled. She knew Jemima was taller than her... now she knew exactly. Underneath Jemima's, her own were written in Alyssa's handwriting:

_Lenora Skeffington 5'3" 105 lbs._

"Lenora," said Alyssa's voice. "Come on; if we don't get started, Mr. Norton will be mad."

Lenora nodded, hung up the clipboard, and left the locker room with the Hamilton.

A few minutes later, they were both out jogging on the track. Lenora kept in pace with Alyssa, hoping a conversation would start.

"So, you've been hanging out with the Burroughs twins," said Alyssa after a moment.

"They seem nice," Lenora said truthfully; both Jemima and Ralph were happy to welcome her into the school and the band.

"Well, there's something about them and their friends you need to know about," Alyssa replied. "You see, they're all part of a little club they created in middle school. It's just the five of them: Ralph, Jemima, and three boys called Harold Powell, John Haigh, and Robert Morris. Everyone except Ralph and Jemima are seniors; they're juniors. They're all in band; that's where they met and how the whole group started."

"Yeah... so?" Lenora asked; why was Alyssa telling her this? What did she care?

_"So,"_ said Alyssa, "they don't really have a name for themselves; everyone knows them as the Subordinates. They all have little nicknames for each other, and rumor is that the nicknames are chosen based on how they'd like to _kill people." _Silence followed her words. Lenora couldn't really see what was all that shocking about it; she liked envisioning how she'd kill people... It was an interesting way to occupy her time.

"They mostly keep to themselves," Alyssa finally continued. "They haven't shown an interest in anyone new since they started... until Jemima started talking to you. So... just be careful of them, all right? You can be their friend if you want, but I'm just warning you."

"Well... thanks for the warning," said Lenora. She believed what Alyssa said, but couldn't believe she would talk about them like that. Ralph and Jemima were pleasant people, she observed, and even though they were a little weird, they didn't deserve to be talked about so rudely.

The bell rang several minutes later, and Lenora walked out of the gymnasium to find Jemima waiting, propped up against the wall, just like she'd promised.

"Band practice tonight," the girl announced as they started walking. "You coming?"

"I don't know," Lenora said hesitantly. "I don't know the music, I don't know the drill--"

"Aw, don't worry about it!" Jemima exclaimed, clapping her on the shoulder. "We've got three weeks til competition; you've got time to learn!"

Lenora's eyes widened. Three _weeks?_


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: About time I got this chapter up! It's been forever, and I'm really sorry... I've been really busy, and the internet's down at my house currently. Here's... chapter three of The Band! Enjoy! :D_**

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**~~~~~Chapter Three~~~~~**

Lunchtime.

It was finally lunchtime.

It was finally lunchtime, and Lenora was standing in line with the Burroughs twins: Ralph in front of her, Jemima behind her. Harold was several places in front of them, between a tall, burly, muscled boy with long brown hair and a boy wearing a gas mask. Lenora couldn't help but stare as they got their food. How on earth did Mr. Gas Mask eat?

"Staring at the kid with the mask?" Jemima asked. "That's Corroder. He's obsessed with sulphuric acid... loves the stuff. He's always wearing that mask; it's become a habit."

"The really big guy on the other side of Chopper's Sledgehammer," Ralph added. "Hardly ever talks, but people're scared to death of him. Probably because he once took a janitor out with a sledgehammer in sixth grade!"

He and Jemima laughed, and Lenora suddenly flinched slightly as Sledgehammer whirled his head around to look at her. He had the most frightening hazel eyes she'd ever seen, but they relaxed as they saw Ralph and Jemima. He then turned back around to pay for his food.

"Hey, Jemima?" Lenora asked. "Alyssa told me something in P.E. today... said you all were Subordinates?" Ralph turned around and grinned.

"All that stuff's true," he said. "Causes a bit of instability in the band, but hey, it works."

"Alyssa _used _to be in with us, too," said Jemima, "but _then _she met that Dennis Owen and got annoying. So, we kicked her out." They laughed again, and Lenora couldn't help snickering as she got her food.

"You all love band?" she asked, following them outside.

"Of course!" Jemima exclaimed.

"It's _very _important to us," said Ralph. "It's the only place where we can all _really _get together. It's the only class we have with Chopper, Corroder, and Sledgehammer. Speaking of..."

They led Lenora over to a picnic table in a faraway, shaded corner of the courtyard. The large boy, Sledgehammer, was sitting in the middle on one bench, while Chopper was on his right and Corroder was on his left.

"Well, speak of the devil," said Chopper as they arrived. "The Scissortwins and the new girl. We were just talking about you, new girl." Corroder laughed, a wheezing, nasally laugh in his gas mask.

Ralph, Jemima, and Lenora all sat down opposite them; Ralph on Lenora's left and Jemima on her right. She realized she was sitting in front of Sledgehammer and looked nervously up at him. He stared back, unblinking.

"So... um..." Lenora stuttered after a moment, "what instruments do you guys play?"

"Coco plays tuba," said Jemima, "and Sledgey's drumline." Sledgehammer's eyes narrowed, and Corroder slammed his fist down on the table.

"How many times must I say it?" he demanded angrily, standing up. _"Don't call me Coco!"_

Sledgehammer glared at Jemima, as if demanding her not to call him Sledgey. Jemima burst into laughter.

"Coco! Coco Corroder!" she cried, spinning in her seat, shaking with wild laughter. Corroder's grip tightened on the plastic spork he held, and after a moment, jabbed it into Jemima's arm.

"Ow!" she cried, turning back around to face him.

"How do you like that, _Aunt Jemima?" _Corroder mocked. "Got any pancakes for me?" Jemima's eyes narrowed as he laughed.

"Yeah," she replied, her voice laced with bitter sarcasm. "Flavored with sulphuric acid... and have the sharp bite of _scissors!" _An evil laugh issued from her mouth, and a startled Lenora jumped sideways, falling onto Ralph. Was this how they always acted?

She suddenly felt Ralph's arms on her sides, pushing her back upright. "Geez," he said. "I knew you liked me, little Lenora, but not _that _much!"

"Okay, everyone, stop, please," Chopper suddenly said. "We haven't even properly introduced Corroder and Sledgehammer to the new girl, we haven't told her she's sitting with us, she has a right to know." Jemima and Corroder looked at him, then both returned to their food.

"Scissorman, you start," Chopper ordered. Ralph grinned.

"Sledgehammer's real name is Robert Morris," he told Lenora. "Corroder's is John Haigh. You already know Chopper's, mine, and Jemima's, so there's no point in telling you that."

"When you're around us," Chopper said, pointing his spork at her, "you _will _call us by our nicknames. The twins are Scissorman and Scissorwoman."

"How... did you all get these names?" Lenora asked hesitantly; she didn't really feel like angering Chopper or Corroder with inappropriate questions.

"Back in middle school," Corroder answered, looking at her, "we all found out we each had a certain affinity with a weapon or method of murder. I like sulphuric acid. You know what acid does?"

"It corrodes things?" Lenora guessed.

"That's right," Corroder responded. "Sulphuric acid corrodes, and so my name became Corroder. Get it?"

Lenora slowly nodded. "So... Chopper likes chopping things... right?"

"Chopper's got a pair of axes at his house," said Jemima. "Sledgehammer's got, well, a sledgehammer, and Ralph and I got our names because we _adore _scissors." She cackled. "Snippety-snap!"

Lenora nodded again. She understood now... Alyssa had been wrong. These guys weren't bad... not at all. She liked them better than Alyssa and Dennis, at any rate.

"So when do I get my nickname?" she asked. "I'm part of the Subordinates now, aren't I?"

Silence followed her words, then Jemima cackled.

"You seem to know what you want, don't you, new girl?" Chopper asked. "You don't get a nickname yet. You still have to prove yourself. You're coming to band practice tonight, yes?"

Lenora nodded. Her parents would understand... It'd been engraved in their brains since sixth grade that if Lenora didn't come straight home on the weekdays, she was doing something for band. They didn't expect her home until at least eight on those days... As long as she was back before one in the morning, they didn't care.

"All right," said Chopper. "We'll see how you do with the drill. In the meantime, go home with the Scissortwins after school. Their adopted dad's the band director -- he'll make sure you all get to practice on time."

"You guys are adopted?" Lenora asked incredulously, looking on either side of her.

"You didn't know?" Jemima replied. "There's a reason we don't look like Mr. Burroughs... picked us up off the battlefield when we were really little. At least, that's what he _told _us. Doesn't explain why we look Asian, though."

Lenora looked at Jemima and found that she was right: Both of them _did _look full-blooded Asian...

"I like to think we're Korean," said Ralph, smiling.

"You idiot," said Corroder, "you're not Korean. Koreans look different. You're Chinese."

"No, we're not," Jemima countered. "We're _Japanese, _duh. Why else do you think it says Emiko and Ryusuke on our birth certificates?"

"Scissors, you just made that up," said Chopper. "You two don't _have _any birth certificates in your possession. At least, that's what Burroughs says. Anyway, it's decided. New girl's going home with the Scissortwins." He picked up his tray and left the table. Lenora watched him go back into the building. What was _that _all about?

"Hey, Lenora..." said Jemima. "Want to help me make something special for Corroder at my house today? We _promise _we'll have it at band practice!" She winked at her, and Lenora blinked unsurely.

"Uh... okay," she said. "What is it?"

"It's a surprise!" Jemima exclaimed. Corroder crossed his arms.

"What are you planning, Scissorwoman?" he asked. Jemima giggled.

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A couple of hours later, eighth period was over, and Lenora left her chemistry classroom to find Ralph and Jemima by her locker. Somehow they'd managed to open it, and they stood next to it, grinning.

"How'd you get in my locker?" Lenora cried, rushing over. Ralph chuckled.

"I have my ways," he said, making scissoring motions with his fingers. Lenora stared, then groaned after a moment.

"What the hell," she moaned, throwing her chemistry book in and slamming the door. "You picked the lock with a pair of _scissors?"_

"That is for us to know," Ralph replied, "and for you to contemplate. Now... to the band room!"

The twins then began to walk away, and Lenora ran to keep up. She couldn't figure out why they were going to the band room... until she remembered that Mr. Burroughs was their adopted father. That's right. That's what he was. It was still so weird to think about... The band director, their adopted father? It clicked, but then again it didn't.

They entered the band room, and Ralph shouted, "Mr. Burroughs! We're ready to go!"

The band director strode out from behind the piano. He surveyed them, then said, "Lenora's coming with us?"

Jemima nodded, then Mr. Burroughs walked out the back door. The three students followed, hastening into the parking lot.

The twins led Lenora to a green truck, where they threw their bags in the bed. Ralph then climbed into the front of the truck while Jemima and Lenora climbed into the back seat.

"So where do you guys live?" Lenora asked as they left the school.

"North side," Jemima replied. "You?"

"Same," Lenora answered. "Ten minutes away from the middle school."

"Not that much farther from us," Ralph remarked. "Jemima, what are you and Lenora planning?"

Jemima giggled. "Oh, we're just going to give Corroder a present," she replied. "Nothing _too _big... just a little snack!" She burst into wild laughter, and Lenora stared. She had a strange feeling she knew what Jemima was planning...


End file.
